


Eidetic Memory

by missema



Series: Allyse Shepard, Space Cadet [12]
Category: Mass Effect
Genre: F/M, Friendship, Gen, Love, Memories
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-04-09
Updated: 2012-04-09
Packaged: 2017-11-03 07:46:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,163
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/379011
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/missema/pseuds/missema
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Set during ME3</p><p>Thane Krios decides to befriend Kaidan Alenko while in the hospital, providing insight to the time he'd spent on the Normandy SR2 with Allyse Shepard.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Eidetic Memory

He heard the metallic whoosh of the doors opening before he could effectively turn his healing body to see who had come into the room.  Kaidan wasn't expecting visitors, but they were welcome all the same.  He was bored out of his mind in the hospital, aside from his treatments, and a little exercise, there was not much to do each day, the visits from Shepard too few, the ones from Udina too many.

It was a surprise to see the lithe drell man step through the doors.  Tannor Naura had been kind, friendly to him on the few occasions that they spoke.

"I hope I'm not disturbing you, Major Alenko."  He said as he walked in, but stopped just as he came in the door.  Kaidan smiled, for whatever reason, he liked the man, and saw what he was doing - giving Kaidan a chance to refuse his visit before settling in.  It was considerate in a way that most humans weren't.

"Come in Mr. Naura."  Kaidan beckoned him in, waving his hand at the visitors seat next to his bed.

"I think it is time I re-introduce myself.  You may call me Thane Krios."  The man stopped and issued one of the dry coughs that punctuated his speech more frequently these days.  "And I believe we have a friend in common."

"Shepard."  Kaidan finished for him.  The man nodded, letting Kaidan form the connections himself. "You served on the Normandy and helped defeat the Collectors."

"Correct.  I apologize for the deception, but according to this hospital registry, Tannor Naura is my name."  He coughed again, giving Kaidan a chance to rummage through his memories.

Assassin.  Thane Krios was a drell assassin, but no picture of him had been available with the file the Alliance had passed along to him.  It had been cobbled together by different places, the Alliance, C-Sec, the Turian Hierarchy, but information was still scant at best. There was a list of possible aliases, all out of date, a few bits of speculation on the jobs he'd done, weapons he'd used, but other than that the file was empty.  The only one thinner had been the file on the krogan - Grunt.  It had merely said: Suspected genetically modified krogan, status unknown.

"So, Mr. um, Krios, why tell me now?"

"I debated a great deal whether or not to come, but in the end, I decided that there were few things more noble in life than the pursuit of truth."  The drell's voice was soothing, nearly hypnotic as he spoke his cryptic words.  "Commander Shepard came to visit me the last time she was here, and she spoke of you."

The words made Kaidan sit up, though he didn't move swiftly or without pain.  He looked Thane in his large, dark eyes, his full attention focused on him but otherwise didn't acknowledge the comment.  He wanted to see what else Thane had to say about Allyse before venturing into this conversation.  If he'd been on the Normandy, there was a good chance he'd heard about their little spat on Horizon.

"On the Normandy, she kept a photo of you on her desk.  During her visit, she said you got hurt protecting her and her tone spoke of more than concern or guilt."  Thane's gaze was steady, but he was shifting uncomfortably on the stool.  Kaidan realized that before he'd sat down, he'd changed the angle, pulling it away so that his back would no longer be to the door.

" _Ever has it been that love knows not its own depth until the hour of separation."_

"That's Khalil Gibran."  Kaidan said, recognizing the quote.  He wasn't particularly poetic himself, but after Allyse went down with the first Normandy, he'd found comfort in a number of books and felt the sad solace of his love reflected back in a number of different pieces.  His mom might have sent him that one, she'd been thoughtful, and so empathetic during his grieving period.  Aftewards, he'd wondered whom she'd lost, and why they'd never talked about it, but he had been immensely grateful for both of his parents throughout the two years Shepard was gone.  Thoughts of his mother, of his parents now made him feel anxious instead of calm, the memory triggered by the line of poetry nearly overwhelming him with emotion.

But when he looked at Thane, it was as if he was transformed, suddenly warmer.  It was the first time the drell had really smiled, and Kaidan was surprised at the change in him.

"Yes, it is one of my favorite quotes from his many works."  Thane leaned forward, looking intently at Kaidan.  "If you'd like, you can tell me about the woman you love, and I'll tell you about my time with Commander Shepard."

Kaidan rolled slightly and nodded at the man, always eager to hear more about the new Normandy.  Things hadn't been adding up to him, and he wanted to know everything, needed to know before he could work with Shepard again.

There was plenty of reasons for him to be suspicious, and he never felt like he was playing on an even keel with her, she seemed to have far more information about every situation than was provided to him.  It made him feel more than a little insecure, sometimes angry at all the forces that conspired to keep him in the perpetual dark.  But loving her, wanting to be with her, fight at her side again - those desires hadn't even stopped.  Thane was watching him, not pressuring or searching, but merely observing his actions before he spoke.

"I've loved Allyse for years, and it didn't end when she died."

"Death has no power over anything except life."

"No, but stupidity can take a toll on love, even when it's well-intentioned.  Could you tell me what happened when you fought the Collectors?  I...wish I could have been there.  I need to know."  Kaidan couldn't explain it properly to himself and definitely not to someone he should consider a near stranger, but he felt strangely close to the man, as the connection through Shepard made them comrades.

Thane nodded again and coughed before he began to recount the memory of how he met Shepard.

"Illium, skyscrapers - metal and glass all around.  My target is at the top of her own tower, a queen amongst the bees that buzz around.  But she knows I'm coming, there's heavy security in the unfinished buildings.  Salarian workers fleeing for their lives as she turns the mechs on those she employs.  Eclipse guards, brutish mercenaries in force, an unknown team on my tail.  Must reach Nassana Dantius before they catch me.  Construction everywhere, plenty of cover, shadows to move swiftly into.  Lock the salarians into a storage room, hear their confused cries as I move on, quicker now.  Have I become the quarry?"

Kaidan laid back onto the bed, fascinated, drinking in the memories as they played out.  What else had he missed?


End file.
